Chapter 1 Heavenly Fire Tribulation

Thunderous heavenly fire descended upon the temple, which in the eyes of the ancients was not a good omen. But for the Silver Bottle Maiden, the power of the fire god was crucial. This fire could subdue demons and eliminate devils. As long as she could withstand the monstrous divine fire within the Dafuli Earth, she could break through the shackles of a folk deity and ascend to become a celestial god!

"Years of accumulated incense and vows are for this very moment. I didn't expect it to come so quickly. I wanted to accumulate more resources, but the majesty of the Zhenwu statue has manifested, and someone has set a trap for me. So, the time has come when I must take this step!"

She released her divine power and began to shed her divine position.

She abandoned her true form as a divine statue, reverting to a wandering spirit. Although she still retained powerful magic, the demotion in rank and the shift between yin and yang forces caused her immense pain for a time.

Waves of blue-green ghost fire erupted around her!

"Here it comes, the Heavenly Fire Tribulation. Reverting from a folk deity to a wandering spirit, attempting to receive the position of a celestial god, this is defying the heavens, an extremely dangerous act. Cultivating in accordance with heaven will not be difficult, but if you want to take shortcuts, skipping grades to gain powerful magic, you will inevitably encounter heavenly tribulation."

"This Heavenly Fire Tribulation burns from the Yongquan acupoint in the soles of the feet, straight through the Niwan Palace, turning the five internal organs to ash and the four limbs to decay, burning all the millennia of bitter cultivation into illusion."

The Silver Bottle Maiden was well prepared. This temple might appear to be engulfed in monstrous flames, but in reality, only these blue-green ghost fires were harmful to her. She began to circulate her incense power. The power of incense she had gained over hundreds of years covered the form and spirit of this wandering ghost. In an instant, the blue-green ghost fires were devoured by the incense of the people.

However, until the Fire Tribulation stopped, ghost fire would continue to湧 out from the depths of her soul.

"When people embark on the path of cultivation, they must ignite the fire within their bodies, using the fire energy to drive the metal energy, so that they can enter the path of cultivation. Fire energy appears as yang, while metal energy corresponds to immortality. This is the starting path to achieve immortality."

"However, fire, in the Eight Trigrams, is Li. The Li trigram is a yin trigram... Yang is the Qianyuan Void, yin is the Kunyuan Form. Those who seek yin must value weight and sink downwards, while those who seek yang must be light and ascend."

"Therefore, flames can make demons fear, make mortals panic, and make ghosts and gods wail, because it penetrates yin and yang, and manifests in different forms according to the expressions of yin and yang, possessing different powers."

The Silver Bottle Maiden’s hundreds of years of cultivation experience had allowed her to be fully prepared. Suppressing those ghost fires, the heavenly fire descended continuously from the Dafuli. Soon, her thoughts reached the Azure Sky, and among those shining stars, a divine tablet had begun to respond to her call!

Located in the direction of the Fire Department gods!

The first divine tablet appeared, responding to the Heavenly Fire Tribulation, and manifested as the Fire Killing General among the Northern Eight Killing Generals!

Legend says that the Fire Killing General's camp is located under Huagai Mountain in the Fengdu Dharma Realm, responsible for burning and killing the evil ghosts who escape from the Fengdu Hell!

Nineteenth Rank of the Celestial Department!

This celestial god general was considered a master even in Shuntian Prefecture. Receiving him would immediately grant the combat power of Three Flowers Gather on the Crown, or even Five Energies Converge at the Origin. But the Silver Bottle Maiden gritted her teeth:

"Nineteenth Rank of the Celestial Department, and a fire god of half the Underworld, this is not strong enough!"

She wanted to receive a more powerful divine position. As her thoughts spread to the Dafuli, the ghost fire on her body suddenly grew stronger!

The Heavenly Fire Tribulation suddenly intensified, and began to suppress the incense of the people!

This seemed to represent the will of the Dafuli!

As if to say...

A wandering ghost from the human world dares to妄圖窥视 the celestial god position above the Nineteenth Rank!

The Silver Bottle Maiden ignored the tribulation fire descending from the Dafuli. She focused wholeheartedly on a stronger divine position!

Sincerity and courageous progress!

The ghost fire overwhelmed the incense fire. The Dafuli looked down on her with a contemptuous attitude. These were all expected things, not surprising at all!

The gods in the heavens are clearly stratified. Without great strength, one cannot overstep!

But she had prepared many things, using the incense of the people to resist the ghost fire, and the statue of Emperor Zhenwu to prevent the flames of the tribulation from spreading to the mortal world, and with the help of Zhenwu's majesty, she could make a cross-grade reception!

It was worth a try!

"Celestial Department Nineteenth Rank, Fire Spirit Marshal!"

"Celestial Department Nineteenth Rank, Majestic Spirit General!"

"Celestial Department Eighteenth Rank, Pushing Fire Cart God General!"

"Celestial Department Seventeenth Rank, Bearing Heavenly Fire Grand Uncle God!"

"Celestial Department Sixteenth Rank, Fire Dragon Law Order Grand God!"

"Celestial Department Fifteenth Rank, Fire Superintendent Grand God!"

"Celestial Department Fifteenth Rank, Scarlet Essence Emperor Lord!"

The ghost fire rose fiercely, growing more and more intense. The Dafuli was only imposing a contemptuous punishment on her, without any sense of anger, because all the results she received were determined by her current actions.

Sow what you reap.

The Silver Bottle Maiden felt that she could hardly support herself, but she still did not use the power of the Zhenwu statue. And her resonance with those divine positions was actually happening in a very short period of time.

The heavenly fire burned the temple, as if the power of the Dharma Realm had completely sealed off her eight senses and six consciousnesses. Even time slowed down in this process. This was the power of the Dafuli. Time was meaningless in the Dafuli. Once deeply trapped in it, the scene of "seven days in the mountains, a thousand years in the world" would definitely happen. This was not just an empty phrase.

"I must at least see the Celestial Department Twelfth Rank before using the power of Emperor Zhenwu!"

She risked being burned to ashes, continuing to concentrate her mind. At this time, her legs and feet had been swallowed by ghost fire. The Heavenly Fire Tribulation was crushing her form and spirit, and the incense of the people could no longer resist.

The majesty from the upper fire gods was telling her that if she committed an act of transgression, she would have to pay an equal price.

"I will not be scattered into ashes, I still have things to do."

"I will accomplish what my father did not accomplish, I will protect the people my father did not protect. When I become a celestial god, able to reach the highest heaven and the deepest hell, I will know where my father is in the underworld!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden's spirit withstood the enormous pressure. Her soul was almost shattered. The Celestial Department Fifteenth Rank was actually the limit she could receive with her cultivation, after all, her true form was just a wandering ghost. But at this time, she sacrificed the vows of the people!

Among the incense of the people, countless prayers of the masses rose. Even if her incense was sparse, the accumulation of three hundred years, from the Yuan Dynasty until now, had accumulated more than ten thousand vows.

The prayers of the people were transmitted to the sky, directly to the Azure Sky, resonating with ethereal empty songs within it, and the oppression of the gods indeed weakened a lot, but the vows of the people were also gradually dissipating.

Or rather, being dissolved by the Dafuli.

Things that enter the Dafuli rarely return to the human world.

"The voices of the people, the vows of the people, the prayers of the people! Celestial gods, can you hear them!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden's spirit followed the rise of the people's vows, continuing to break through a new level in the Dafuli.

At the same time, in the Dafuli, a dragon's roar seemed to faintly appear!

The void shook, and the Silver Bottle Maiden groaned, feeling that her soul was almost collapsing, but at this time she saw a new divine position!

Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank!

Pu Cheng!

"Ancient Grand God!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden felt an ancient aura that no one had ever received! It almost "rushed towards her"!

Pu Cheng, in the Spring and Autumn period, was the assistant god of the Fire God Zhurong worshipped by the Yue people!

But because of the changes of the years and the rise and fall of dynasties, its name had long been forgotten by later generations. Even those who knew of it had mostly seen it once or twice in historical books. As for how to worship it, that was long unknown.

Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank, and an ancient fire god that no one had ever received.

The Silver Bottle Maiden gritted her teeth.

Normally speaking, it should be enough to stop here.

Yes, could it be done?

No, she could continue upward!

Upward!

She still had the strength to spare!

The divine position of Pu Cheng brushed past the Silver Bottle Maiden and the vows of the people.

When she crossed the level of the Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank, a huge divine power from above struck down from the sky, the divine power was so vast that it almost scattered the surrounding vows of the people!

With just this one blow, the Silver Bottle Maiden was severely injured, and her spirit almost reverted to its original form. Fortunately, the vows of the people helped her resist, but the ghost fire on her body also instantly intensified, as if it was about to engulf her waist in the next moment! And those incense fires that were previously used to resist the ghost fire had almost been completely engulfed!

The last wisp of incense fire was still stubbornly resisting in the ghost fire.

"Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank, Fire Virtue Star Lord!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden's eyes suddenly lit up!

However, blocking between the Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank and the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank, that sudden vast divine power, did not come from the upper gods, but from a inexplicable... luck dragon!

The Silver Bottle Maiden could see that there was a huge gap below the position of the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank!

"Why, it's locked, I can't go up, why!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden suddenly froze, she just looked at the distant Fire Virtue Star Lord's divine position, and no matter how hard she tried, she could not break through the barrier in front of her.

"That's right... it's the Ming Dynasty's... secret method... they changed the rules of receiving, the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank, is already a power beyond the Yellow Court Realm."

The Celestial Department Twentieth and Nineteenth Ranks correspond to the Ninth Realm Five Energies Converge at the Origin, Eighteenth and Seventeenth correspond to Golden Core Earth Immortals, and Sixteenth and Fifteenth correspond to Nascent Soul masters.

The Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank corresponds to the Yellow Court Realm.

Although it is said that receiving the divine position will not immediately obtain the corresponding magic power, if you receive the divine position of the Yellow Court, you can at least immediately obtain the magic power of the Golden Core level.

Therefore, the titles of the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank are "All the Celestial Phenomena", corresponding to the Innate Realm!

Above the Innate Realm is already breaking away from mortals, and taking the first step towards the true immortal path, so the imperial court changed the rules of receiving, as long as those who receive the divine position in the human world, their receiving power cannot reach the level of the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank!

And the imperial court, possesses the divine position above the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank!

Of course, possessing the divine position does not mean that the imperial court can use it, just like Doumu Yuanjun, that is a true super grand god above the Celestial Department Tenth Rank, but in the Forbidden City, its usage is just an artificial firewall.

They are not allowed to receive these powerful divine positions, to prevent the generals under their command from having disloyal intentions. They will not use them unless it is absolutely necessary, but in fact, when it is absolutely necessary, it is too late to use them.

And similarly, this luck dragon will inflict an unstoppable heavenly punishment on those who try to receive higher-level divine positions!

This luck dragon blooms with the light of the sun and moon, illuminating the boundless world!

Immortal palaces and temples, illusory shadows appeared heavily in her eyes!

In the next moment, in the depths of those immortal palaces and temples, the shadow of a large city appeared, it was the Forbidden City of Shuntian Prefecture!

At this time, the Silver Bottle Maiden could not help but think of two lines of poetry:

The azure sky is vast and bottomless!

The sun and moon illuminate the golden and silver terraces!

"Not good!"

The Silver Bottle Maiden's spiritual consciousness immediately descended from the high sky, but the luck dragon chased after her relentlessly, and this dragon had three eyes, which looked like three huge stars!

At the same time, in the Dafuli, the sound of zithers playing suddenly sounded. It was not the art of the Ming Dynasty, and the art form it played was even something that the Silver Bottle Maiden had never heard before!

Neither the art of the Ming Dynasty, nor the art of the Yuan or Song Dynasties!

This tune, thick with softness, combining strength and flexibility, was free and unrestrained, as if it were a musical chapter used to worship the gods, but it was very different from the ones used in the Song, Yuan and Ming Dynasties!

The history of this tune.... was even earlier!

Is this dragon really the Ming Dynasty's luck dragon!?

At this time, the luck dragon spewed out a vast heavenly fire from its mouth, this was no longer a Dafuli illusion!

The fire emitted from the dragon's mouth was anciently called "Yin Fire of the Heavens"!

This was a terrifying power that could truly burn all divine souls and ghost spirits into nothingness. The receiver who was caught by the luck dragon had almost no room for resistance. Only then did the Silver Bottle Maiden react, when she arrived at the Celestial Department Fourteenth Rank, the dragon's roar she heard was not a sign of good luck, but a warning from this guy!

"Emperor help me!"

At this time, the Silver Bottle Maiden immediately used the power in the Zhenwu statue, her mind turned, urging the Zhenwu magic spell, to contend with the Yin Fire of the Heavens!

The luck dragon opened its mouth, and its roar shook the Azure Sky. The Zhenwu magic spell disappeared instantly under the Yin Fire of the Heavens, and the Yin Fire of the Heavens from the luck dragon's mouth had surrounded the Silver Bottle Maiden!

"Ascending to become a true god, is indeed as difficult as ascending to the heavens. I have not been in contact with the imperial court for a long time, this time it is truly a loss."

The Silver Bottle Maiden had this thought in her heart, knowing that she would definitely not be able to stop it this time.

Unexpectedly, she did not die at the hands of demons, but died at the power of the imperial court, this.... truly.... could it be that the Yue family, is born with a bad match with the dynasties of all ages.

The Yin Fire covered the azure sky, and the Silver Bottle Maiden had already closed her eyes and waited for death.

At this moment, a force of incense filled the Silver Bottle Maiden's whole body!

The Yin Fire of the Heavens burned fiercely, and the three huge star-like eyes of the luck dragon floated outside, while the Silver Bottle Maiden looked in astonishment at the power of incense that appeared on her body. These vast powers of incense blocked the invasion of the Yin Fire of the Heavens, and....

Were still devouring those Yin Fires of the Heavens in reverse!

A voice came from the sky, and seemed to come from the temple, from the human world to the Dafuli, so ethereal that it could not be found anywhere.

"During the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty, the light of the sun and moon and the Flying Dragon of the Big Dipper were painted on long flags to symbolize the Three Stars of Taiyi, as the guiding flag for worshipping Taiyi. When praying for military affairs, the Grand Historian was ordered to hold the spirit flag in his hands and point it to the country to be conquered."

"Since ancient times, the pattern of the sun and moon and the flying dragon has been used to represent the Son of Heaven after the Han Dynasty. The faults of the Son of Heaven are like solar and lunar eclipses; the blessings of the Son of Heaven are like the brightness of the sun and moon; the Son of Heaven is deceived by traitors, like the sun and moon being deceived by dark clouds; the broad mind of the Son of Heaven is as open as the radiance of the sun and moon filling the heavens and the earth."

"This dragon cannot be fought with magic. It can only be harmed by external objects when the numbers of days change and the moment when dynasties change arrives, and then re-form during the construction of the next dynasty."

The Silver Bottle Maiden looked for the source of the voice in astonishment: "Zhenwu... Emperor?!"

"For the time being, let's consider it Zhenwu."

"I am the White-Faced Zhenwu."

The voice slowly came from the void, although it was unhurried, it had a power that shook the Dafuli!

An immortal of the Ascension Realm!

This aura transcended the mortal world. The Silver Bottle Maiden only felt it slightly, and felt that her consciousness had shattered the world and was traveling outside the sky. This extraordinary power was not even possessed by the Pure Yang Realm cultivator she had seen back then!

At this time, the luck dragon seemed to have an angry emotion, and it wanted to launch a heavenly punishment again!

The Yin Fire of the Heavens re-brewed in its mouth, gushing out!

The Silver Bottle Maiden's face changed slightly, and the immortal voice came again from the void:

"Don't worry."

"This fire, cannot be released!"

At this moment, behind the Silver Bottle Maiden, a magnificent heavenly gate rose from the clouds and opened with a bang!

A large amount of white divine smoke rushed out from the gate, hitting the Yin Fire of the Heavens. All the flames were swallowed by the white smoke, and the white smoke crossed the sky sealed by the luck dragon, flying straight to the position of the Celestial Department Thirteenth Rank!

In an instant, the Silver Bottle Maiden saw a scene that shocked her mind!

First of all, this white smoke could actually break through the blockade of the luck dragon... no, it was not breaking through, but crossing over, without being interfered with!

Moreover, when the white smoke passed through this blockade of the azure sky, all the divine tablets after the Thirteenth Celestial Department were all like thunder, shaking the sky, shaking together, and then, rumbling, they turned around one after another, facing the place where the white smoke arrived!

How was this possible!

Yue Yinping exclaimed that this was beyond common sense!

The divine positions without consciousness actually had violent, will-like "behaviors" because of the arrival of this immortal?!

Then... at this moment.

Could it... be considered "All Gods Pay Homage to the Sovereign"?!

And that immortal who called himself "White-Faced Zhenwu" let out a hearty laugh:

"Everyone! I'm back again!"

"For my sake, please lend her the Fire Virtue Star Lord for a while!"